Mike Coffman, candidate for Congressional District 6

Candidate Q&A

How would choosing you for this office improve the lives of residents of the district?

My constituents would have an independent voice representing them — someone who is willing to challenge both parties when they're wrong. They would have someone who deeply understands the district, having grown up in the district and started a small business here. I understand the challenges of the rapidly rising cost of living, which is why I authored legislation that would allow families to save money, tax-free, for the down payment on their first home.

What should Congress do to address the nation's opioid epidemic?

We need to crack down on the over-prescription of addictive pain medication, better support people suffering from opioid addiction through expanding opportunities for substance-abuse treatment and improve monitoring of those with access to these drugs. I have voted for and authored bills that take on the opioid epidemic with both Democrats and Republicans. This is a problem that cannot be fixed in a partisan manner — we need to work together to combat the issue.

What is your position on immigration reform?

I believe we need to fix our broken immigration system in a manner that keeps families together, secures our borders and strengthens our economy. I have worked across the aisle to author legislation that would give the young people who were brought to this country illegally as kids, through no fault of their own, a path to citizenship. We need immigration laws that are both humane and enforced.

What can be done to improve the nation's health care system?

First and foremost, we must preserve protections for those with pre-existing conditions. That is why I voted against the health care bill last year — because it didn't include those necessary protections. We must reduce the cost of defensive medicine by ending the giveaways to the trial lawyers lobby. We also need to stabilize the individual insurance market, which has seen unaffordable and annual increases ever since Obamacare was passed.

What are two other issues that demand attention from Congress, and why?

President Trump has proposed a new Space Force, which would mean billions in new Pentagon bureaucracy. As a longtime opponent of wasteful spending at the Pentagon, I plan on fighting it, as I believe it space operations are best dealt with by the Air Force, and not another level of bureaucracy. We also need to deal with our ballooning deficits and national debt. We can't keep putting more and more debt on future generations.

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